Kaiga leakage dominates parliament, authorities file complaint

New Delhi / Kaiga, (Karnataka), Dec 2 (ANI): The alleged leakage at the Kaiga nuclear plant in coastal Karnataka dominated proceedings in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, even as plant officials filed a report with Karnataka Police suggesting sabotage.

Senior Manager of the plant Uma Maheshwar filed the complaint at the Mallapur Police Station in Karwar District without naming anyone.

According to the FIR, the water cooler near the reactor was contaminated between November 23 and 24.The report was filed under Sections of 277, 278, 320, 376 and 340 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

In New Delhi, North Kanara MP Ananth Kumar Hegde raised the matter during Zero Hour, expressing serious concern over security of places of national importance.

He urged the Union Government to come clear on the inquiry related to nuclear leakage.

"Why the Kaiga Nuclear Power Plant authorities are delaying in filing the report with the police. How many people are really affected by the radiation, why the government is not taking the elected representatives into confidence," Hegde questioned.

"The government is struggling to get nuclear deal clinched with the countries like US, but the safety of our own N -plants are under threat, I demand the government to explain the safety measures initiated for the N plants in the country," Hegde added.

"The Western Ghats is one among the 12 biological hot spots of the world and if any leakage happens in Kaiga, it will burn the entire region. So I demand the government to come clear on the safety measures initiated at the Kaiga Nuclear station," he said.

Hegde also questioned the security arrangements inside the plant and said the government should explain, "How a person can bring heavy water out of the reactor."

He also drew the attention of the House over the pending inquiries of mysterious deaths of scientists Mahalingum and Ravikumar Mule, which happened earlier this year in Kaiga. (ANI)